Strata and community schemes have come a long way since the first scheme was registered 50 years ago. Des Mooney looks at ideas to help shape the next 50 years.

2011 marks the 50th anniversary of strata legislation in NSW. That makes it a good time to think about what might happen in the next 50 years and whether our current strata and community scheme laws will remain relevant.

LPI administers the state’s land title system and registers strata and community plans. When the first strata Act was introduced it gave unit owners a secure form of ownership for their asset. The original strata subdivisions were relatively simple, involving the division of a vertical apartment block into lots, with the rest of the building being common property.

The Hon. Tony Abbott MHR, Federal Shadow Minister for Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs, was our guest blogger in a forum on the potential benefits of e-Health practices for Australia’s remote Indigenous communities.

It is now widely accepted that Australia has a huge housing affordability problem. Indeed, rarely a day goes by in the media without discussion of house prices, interest rates, first home buyers, and the lack of affordability.

The Government should allocate more resources towards the provision of public and community housing as a matter of urgency. Unfortunately, that's a much harder sell to the electorate than the First Home Buyers Grant.

The doubling of the First Home Owners Grant and the tripling of the grant for those building new homes are expected to provide an immediate stimulus for new housing and help restore business confidence across the sector.

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